I was pretty excited to watch this film. Like much of America, I was fascinated by this bizarre, true story we witnessed in the news. Disappointingly this lifetime production was a. Dull retelling.
Even being based on a true story, it is typical in such films that liberties are taken, parts are exaggerated, and facts are changed. However, it seemed that this was unnecessarily done here; and worse, doing so actually took away from the story, rather than adding to it, as is usually intended.
For instance, legitimate details in the interviews and conversations we see/are all privy to online were altered, which made me question more of the film itself...and including them would've actually made the production more interesting!
I found Jamie King, the woman who portrayed Sherri, pretty dull and monotone, though she did at times capture Sherri's anxiety, deflection, and manipulative behavior.
There were a few times where some scenes were rushed or perhaps overedited, which only exacerbated viewer confusion AND boredom. It seemed apparent that this film had little-to-no cooperation from those actually involved In the ordeal. I'm sure that not many were cooperative, most especially Sherri herself, but it seemed so impersonal and amateurly crafted. There were moments where it was lightly comedic, and of course sad in theory, but even then and overall It lacked real soul. There is debate about whether or not the husband was at all aware before the conclusion of the investigation, but certainly their kids weren't; yet I found it difficult to be very sympathetic to anyone here.
The whole story/format felt rushed, and dare I say- after four+ years of that ridiculous case- even rushed to the screen. Like it felt a bit premature. I found the 1.5-hour recording of the concluding police interview online to be more intriguing than this movie of the same length. Perhaps after more time, those personally involved would be a bit more informative, thereby providing a more detailed telling, about which we could muster more understanding and compassion/empathy. Instead, I was actually ready for it to end.
